Ore reducing machine



June 25, 1935. A, D. HADS'EI.

ORE REDUCING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

June 25, 1935. A. D. HADSEL ORE REDUCING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V N TOR. zw fmsz A TTORNEYS.

June 25, 1935. A, D, HADSEL, 2,006,269

ORE REDUCING MACHINE Filed Feb. '7, 1953 svsheets-sheet 3 IN V EN TOR. m/f. /ZMSEL A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENTI OFFICE 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in ore reducing machines, and more particularly the machines described in the present application are improvements over my ore reducing machine described in my application, Serial No. 534,949, filed on May 4, 1931.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a machine in which ore may be reduced at a minimum expense so that low ,grade ore is made available for commercial exploitation.

As in the co-pending application the machines described in this application depend on the dropping of ore on an impact medium in a continuous circuit for comminution of the ore,` and it is also proposed in the present invention to'cause hydraulic classification of the comminuted ore after each impact while the coarser ore is returned into the circuit and subjected to further impact with the medium. I'his principle allows of a more economical manner of crushing the ore and of classifying the same since classifying takes place after each crushing operation, and all the nes are eliminated from the circuit immediately so that only those particles needing further reducing are retained in the circuit.

More particularly the present invention distinguishes from the invention described in the co-pending application in several respects.

In the first place it is proposed to use a bucket conveyor for elevating and dropping the material as distinguished from a revolvable drum shown in the co-pending application.

Furthermore, it is proposed to arrange the impact medium somewhat differently and to better advantage than in the co-pending application. A further improvement is presented in the proper regulation of the hydraulic classification, whereby the degree of fineness of the reduced materialmay be definitely controlled.

Further advantages and objects of my invention will appear as the specication proceeds.

The preferred forms of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 showssa longitudinal section through Figure 5 a vertical section through a modied form of my machine taken along line 5-5 of Figure 6;

. modated in the front end of the next bucket. At

Figure 6 a longitudinal vertical section taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 a detail plan view of an` adjustable Weir;

Figure 8 a transverse vertical section through a further modied form of machine taken along 5 line 8 8 of Figure 9;

Figure 9 a longitudinal vertical section taken along line 9 9 of Figure 8; and

Figure 10 is a vertical vdetail section taken along line Ill- I0 of Figure 9.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention I-wish .to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the siprit of the invention.

In its preferred form as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 my machine comprises a tank I for holding water, an impact medium in the form of a plurality of breaker plates 2 supported above the water, and an endless bucket conveyor 3 supported in such a manner that its lower portion is submerged in the water underneath the breaker plates,while the upper portion is above the breaker l plates and adapted to discharge ore thereon. 25

Referring to the structures in detail it will be notedthat the tank I is substantially rectangular in horizontal section, and is provided with a discharge opening 4 somewhat below the rim of the tank, the opening, communicating with any suit- 0 able launderindicated at 5. Water is fed into this tank by anysuitable means not shown so that there is a continuous overflow over the discharge edge 4. The bucket conveyor 3 is guided by four sets of sprockets, the two upper ones 35 being marked 6 and the lower ones being marked 1. The lower sprockets are supported on bearings 8 resting on beams 9 extending lengthwise of the tank and supported by standards I0. The upper sprockets 6 are supported in bearings II resting on beams I2, which latter are supported through spacing members I3 on I-beams I4 restingon vertical standards I5. The bucket conveyor consists of a series of buckets I 6, one of which is inustrated in Figures 3 and 4. This 45 bucket comprises a flat bottom I'I having vertical side walls I8 and an end wall I9, the side walls slightly converging from front to rear so that the rear end of one bucket may be accomthe joints between the rear wall and the side walls the material is somewhat contracted as shown at 20, whereby the material discharged from the bucket is crowded together. The buckets are n plates.

interconnected by links 2l fixed relative to the bucket as at 22, and pivoted to the next preceding bucket as at 23, so that when the pivots 22 are advanced by the sprockets 6 and 1, the buckets will follow and will pass through the water in substantially horizontal direction, thence rise between the sprockets 'l and 6 until the position of the bucket is gradually changed into discharging position.

After the bucket has discharged it passes along the upper line defined by the two upper sets of sprockets 6 and finally comes down again on the opposite side of the machine to again become submerged in the water. It should be noted that the major portion of the'material is discharged from the buckets as they begin to turn over the first pair of upper sprockets 6 and the discharged material drops in a curve on the breaker plates 2, which latter are arranged at a slight angle so that lthe dropping material which also follows an angular path, strikes the breaker plates at right angles. The inclination of the breaker plates is sufficiently slight to allow a certain amount of material to gather thereon to serve V as an impact medium for the oncoming material,

while at the same time the breaker plates are arranged so that the bulk of the material, after having dropped on the breaker plates, gravitates toward and into the water of the tank. For this purpose I preferably employ two sets of breaker plates, one upper set and one lower set, the two sets being arranged in staggered relation so that the plates of the lower set take the impact of lmaterial passing between the plates of the upper set, while all the material is free to gravitate into the water.

To keep the material from bouncing out of the circuit, I preferably confine the material between two large plates 25 and 24, arranged on opposite sides of the bucket conveyor and eX-' tending from a point within the tank to the upper bearings I l. New material is fed into the spaced confined between the two plates from a chute 26 through an opening 21, and suitable baffles 28 are provided in different places to cause the dropping material to be guided toward the breaker plates. The latter are supported between the vertical plates 24 and 25 by means of clips 29.

The operation of this machine will be readily understood from the foregoing description. Material enters the space between the plates 24 and 25 through the chute 26 and the aperture 21, and drops on the breaker plates and from there into the water where it is caught by the lower line of buckets I6` While passing through the water, if there are any fines in the material, they will remain on ytop and will be floated off. The remaining material is carried along by the 'buckets up on one side of the machine, and is dropped by the bucket as the upper corner is being passed in curved streams approximately at right angles to the breaker plates.

It should be understood that the entire machine is sufficiently large to cause a substantial chipping of the material when it strikes the breaker While a small portion of the material remains on the breaker plates to serve as impact medium for further material, the bulk gravitates from the breaker plates into the water, 'and is classified therein for rem-oval of the` fines. A

' portion of the fines' will remain 4on the surface of the water and will be floated off over the edge 4, While some fines probably will descend with the coarser material into the buckets. In this rehave descended with the coarser material.

spect it should be observed, however, that as the buckets pass through the water lled with material, it is again subjected to a thorough wash-v ing operation, the water rushing through the small front openings of the buckets, through the material, and discharging over the top of each bucket thereby producing a transverse current which carries with it additional fines thatl may These lines also are floated ofi over the edge 4. It is apparent that when the buckets leave the water they contain only such coarse material as require further reducing, and this material is raised again by the ascending bucket and dropped again in a continuous circuit so that all the material that once enters the machine has to leave the machine in thefform of fines.

The machine shown in Figures 5 to 7 works on a similar principle, the main difference being that a somewhat different conveyor is used. While in the rst machine described the bucket conveyor is arranged to encircle the breaker plates and to drop the material through the inner walls of the bucket, the machine shown in Figures 5 to '7 uses a narrow bucket conveyor shown at 30 with V-shaped buckets 3| secured to a chain 32, which runs over two sets of sprockets 33 and 34. The lower portion of the elevator is also submerged in the tank 35, while the upper buckets, after passing the sprocket discharge outwardly from the elevator into a chute 36 from where the material is guided through a bifurcated tube 31 to drop on breakerplates 38 arranged substantially at right angles to the tube and at a slight incline to the surface of the water. Material is fed into the tank through a chute 39 and the fines are discharged over the discharge edge 40.

In this form I also show an adjustable weir 4| for controlling the speed of the water passing over the edge 40 and thereby the size of the fines discharged with the water,` the idea being that .the slower the flow of the water passing over the edge 40, the finer will be the material carried along by the flow, and the faster the flow the coarser the particles that will be carried by the water over the edge 40. It stands to reason that this adjustable weir may be used in the two other forms shown in the drawing. The construction of the Weir may be varied, and in Figures 6 and 7 is sho-wn as comprising two side plates 42 mounted plate 44 resting on channel irons 45, which latter are interconnected outside of the tank by a channel 45, and the plate 43 is moved in either direction for widening or narrowing the passage between it and the wall of the tank by means of screws 41, revolvably engaging the plate as at 48 and threadedly engaging the channel 46 as at 49.

The operation of this machine is very much like that of the preferred form, material entering through the chute 39 into the space controlled by the buckets, being lifted until the buckets pass over the upper sprocket when the material is dropped into the chute 36 and falls through the bifurcated tube 31 on the breaker plates 38. Here the material is comminuted through impact `and made to gravitate into the water which classifies the material causing the fines to be discharged over the edge 40 while the coarser particles are increase circulation of the water while the buck- In Figures 8 to 10 a further modified form is shown in which the same bucket elevator is used asin the machine shown in Figure 6, but in which the material is discharged from the upper buckets into a vertical tube 50, so as to allow the material to drop in a straight vertical path instead of 'dropping along an inclined path as in Figure 6. The vertical drop of the material will produce a more crushing impact, andthe breaker plate 5| is arranged at right angles to the path of the dropping material. After the material has made impact with the breaker plate 5l, it is guided around the breaker plate on opposite sides as illustrated in Figure 10 and made to pass through thel slanting tube 52 back to the opposite side of the bucket elevator so that the comminuted `material passes through the water into the space controlled by the rising buckets. A somewhat different form of Weir 53 is shown in this machine, and in this form the weir is operated by means of a pinion 5I and a rack rod 55. In operation the form shown in this figure does not essentially vary from that shown in Figures 5 to '7, except lthat the material is allowed a free fall in straight vertical direction instead of following the path of an incline tube.

If desired, the buckets in any one of the three@ forms may be perforated in suitable places to ets pass therethrough and to thereby insure a more thorough washing for the removal of the nes.

I claim:

1. In an,v ore reducing Vmachine, a tank Vfor holding water, a breaker plate supported above the water and at a slight angle to the surface thereof, means for dropping ore on the breaker plate from a height sufficient to insure chipping of the ore whereby the ore is made to drop from,

the breaker plate in comminuted form and the finer particles of ore are made to float on the water while the coarser particles descend, the ore dropping means including means for catching the coarser particles below the surface of the water and for relifting the same for further dropping and having spaced openings for allowing the tank water to rush therethrough for washing out the fines.

2. In an ore reducing machine, a tank for holding water, a breaker plate supported above the water, a bucket elevator arranged externally of the breaker plate and having its lower buckets submerged in the water, means for feeding material into the buckets whereby the material is raised and dropped, fixed side walls on opposite sides of the elevator for guiding the material toward the breaker plate to strike the same substantially at right angles to the surface thereof, the breaker plate being arranged to cause the material to drop upon the water whereby the fines are made to float while the coarser particles descend into'the buckets for further rais- V ing and dropping.

3. In an ore reducer, four pairs of sprocket wheels, means for supporting the same in a vertical plane in the four corners of a rectangle, a bucket conveyor movable over'the sprocket wheels, two plates mounted on opposite sides of the bucket conveyor to enclose the space within the conveyor, one of said plates having a feed opening therein and breaker plates supported by the'side plates in the lower portion of the said space whereby ore fed through the feed opening may be caught in the lower buckets of the conveyorI raised and dropped on the breaker plates. v v4. In an ore reducer, four pairs of sprocket wheels, means for supporting the same in a vertical plane in the four corners of a rectangle, a bucket conveyor movable over the sprocket wheels, two plates mounted on opposite sides of the bucket conveyor to enclose the space within the conveyor, one of said plates having a feed opening therein and breaker plates supported by the side plates in the lower portion of the said space whereby ore fed through the feed opening may be caught in the lower buckets of the conveyor, raised and dropped on the breaker plates, the side plates having baille plates supported therebetween for guiding the dropping ore toward the breaker plates. l 5. In'an ore reducer, four pairs of sprocket wheels, means for supporting the same in a vertical plane in the four corners of a rectangle, a bucket conveyor movable over the sprocket wheels, two plates mounted on opposite sides of the bucket conveyor to enclose the space within the conveyor, one of said plates having a feed opening 4therein and breaker plates supported by the side plates in the lower portion of the said space whereby ore fed through the feed opening may be caught in the lower buckets of the conveyor, raised and dropped on the breaker plates, and a tank for holding water surrounding the lower portion of the bucket conveyor, the

buckets having openings in the direction of travel and toward the interior of the conveyor whereby water is made to ush through the lower buckets` 

